Authors from ancient times to today have sent their lead characters on heroic journeys. Homer dispatched Odysseus to confront Cyclops, Sirens and other perils circa the 8th century BCE. More recently, Harry Potter was called to adventure by a torrent of Hogwarts invitations.
The template can be useful if your novel has a strong central character (a hero or antagonist) who seeks to attain a prize or reach a destination (has a quest.) The template isn’t rigid. Most writers rearrange and skip blocks but are likely to begin ln “The Ordinary Word”, have a mentor, cross a threshhold, face crises, then return with a prize.
The 12-stage journey illustrated here was first documented in a memo to executives during production of Disney’s The Lion King. The lion cub, Simba, never followed these exact steps but did embark from and return to Pride Rock after being mentored by his meerkat and warthog allies, then confronting several hyenas and one nefarious uncle.
Templates can be useful if they are elastic, able to be aligned your plot structure. Others you may consider are Freytag’s Pyramid, the Fichtean Curve, and the Three-Act Structure. Yes, there are many more. Any template can helpful, but don’t stumble into a rabbit hole that delays your Author’s Journey!
